Maurice "Mo" Williams (born December 19, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high school career at Murrah High School, Williams attended college at the University of Alabama, where he led his team as a freshman to a 27–8 record, and also shared an SEC regular-season championship. After two seasons at Alabama, Williams entered the 2003 NBA draft, and was selected as the 47th pick by the Utah Jazz. The following year, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent. Williams was given the starting point guard position after Milwaukee traded their former starting point guard, T. J. Ford, to the Toronto Raptors. That movement opened up a chance for Williams to make a name for himself not only on the Milwaukee Bucks, but in the NBA as well. Williams averaged over 30 minutes a game, as well as other career achievements.

On August 13, 2008, Williams was a part of a three-team, six-player deal involving the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Williams was traded to the Cavaliers, and was immediately named their starting point guard. He began scoring big numbers alongside LeBron James. Williams played in his first All-Star Game in 2009 as a replacement for Toronto's injured Chris Bosh. Williams later played for the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz before signing with the Trail Blazers in 2013.

Williams attended college at the University of Alabama under Mark Gottfried. In 2002 as a freshman, he started every game at point guard. Williams averaged 10.4 points and 4.5 assists per game. His play helped lead the Tide to a 27–8 record, including a 17–0 home record, and the SEC regular-season championship. Williams and the Tide entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed, where they lost to Kent State 71–58 in the second round. Williams led the team in scoring and assists, averaging 16.4 points and 3.8 assists per game for the 2003 season, which ended in a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament to Indiana.

Williams was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round, 47th overall of the 2003 NBA Draft. He averaged 5 points and 1.3 assists for the Jazz in his rookie season. The following year he was released by the Jazz, then he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Filling in for Bucks' injured starting point guard T. J. Ford, Williams averaged 10.2 points and 6.1 assists during the 2004–05 season. In his new role coming off of the bench for the up-and-coming Bucks team, he showed a knack for clutch plays, making several game-winning shots in the 2005–06 season.[citation needed]

In the 2006 off-season, the Bucks traded Ford to the Toronto Raptors for power forwardCharlie Villanueva. This opened up a position in the starting lineup for Williams. In the first 19 games of the 2006-07 season, Williams averaged 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists in nearly 35 minutes per game, all career highs.

In a December 20, 2006, Bucks game vs. the Miami Heat, Williams recorded his first career triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.[1]

Williams was a free agent in summer 2007, but decided to stay with the Bucks by signing a six-year, $52 million deal.[2][3]

After the departure of LeBron James, Williams became a very vocal member of the Cavaliers. Amidst trade rumors, Mo hinted on his Twitter account that he didn't wish to be traded. He also criticized the events surrounding LeBron's flight from Cleveland and even shot back at insults made to the Cavaliers by Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade.

On November 14, 2010, Williams made his first buzzer beater as a Cavalier, to win the game 83-81 over the Milwaukee Bucks. It was a 15 foot shot over Brandon Jennings as time expired. He scored a total of 25 points in the game and was the team's leading scorer.[6]

On February 24, 2011, Williams was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Jamario Moon in exchange for Baron Davis and a first round pick, which ended up being the first pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Kyrie Irving.[7] With the Clippers, Williams was immediately inserted into the starting lineup to play both guard positions, and was able to raise his averages in points-per-game and field goal percentage.

On August 8, 2013, Williams signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[10] On November 23, 2013, in a game against the Warriors, Williams was ejected along with teammate Wesley Matthews after getting involved in an altercation. He was subsequently suspended for one game. Williams injured his groin in game two of the Trail Blazers' second round play-off match-up against the San Antonio Spurs.[11]

On January 13, 2015, Williams scored a career-high 52 points on 19-of-33 shooting, breaking the franchise single-game scoring record set by Kevin Love and Corey Brewer by one point in a 110-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers. This was just the third time in Williams' career that he scored more than 40 points.[14] He subsequently earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors for the week of January 12–18.[15]

On February 10, 2015, Williams was traded, along with Troy Daniels and cash considerations, to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Gary Neal and Miami’s 2019 second-round draft pick.[16] He made his debut for the Hornets on February 21 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, recording 24 points and 12 assists in the 103-110 loss.[17]